Harry J. Cargas
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Harry James Cargas (June 18, 1932 – August 18, 1998) was an American scholar and author best known for his writing and research on the
Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...
, Jewish–Catholic relations, and
American literature American literature is literature written or produced in the United States of America and in the colonies that preceded it. The American literary tradition thus is part of the broader tradition of English-language literature, but also inc ...
. He was a professor at
Webster University Webster University is a private university with its main campus in Webster Groves, Missouri. It has multiple branch locations across the United States and countries across Europe, Asia, and Africa. It offers undergraduate and graduate programs ...
for nearly three decades, and his circle of friends and collaborators included the American novelist Kurt Vonnegut,
Nobel Laureate The Nobel Prizes ( sv, Nobelpriset, no, Nobelprisen) are awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the Swedish Academy, the Karolinska Institutet, and the Norwegian Nobel Committee to individuals and organizations who make out ...
and
Holocaust survivor Holocaust survivors are people who survived the Holocaust, defined as the persecution and attempted annihilation of the Jews by Nazi Germany and its allies before and during World War II in Europe and North Africa. There is no universally accep ...
Elie Wiesel Elie Wiesel (, born Eliezer Wiesel ''Eliezer Vizel''; September 30, 1928 – July 2, 2016) was a Romanian-born American writer, professor, political activist, Nobel Peace Prize, Nobel laureate, and Holocaust survivor. He authored Elie Wiesel b ...
and sportscaster and humanitarian Bob Costas.


Life and education

Cargas was the son of James and Sophie Cargas of
Hamtramck, Michigan Hamtramck ( ) is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 28,433. Hamtramck is surrounded by the city of Detroit except for a small portion that borders the fellow enclave city of Hi ...
. His father was a Greek immigrant and his mother was of Polish descent, and they raised their son in a working-class area near Detroit. As a young man, Cargas struggled to find a career. He quit university education four times before finishing his first degree, and he spent several years working odd jobs in factories, bars, restaurants, and trucking in both
Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...
and
Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...
. He also spent time in the copper mines of
Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbi ...
and as an athletic director for a boys' school in New York and wrestling coach in
New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
before finding his calling as a scholar.Bartrop, P.R. and Steven Leonard Jacobs (2011)
"Harry James Cargas."
''Fifty Key Thinkers on the Holocaust and Genocide''. New York: Routledge. Retrieved September 22, 2012.
Cargas served in the
Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
and was a decorated combat veteran. After the war, however, he became a lifelong pacifist. His philosophy of nonviolence was influenced by the writings of Catholic mystic
Thomas Merton Thomas Merton (January 31, 1915 – December 10, 1968) was an American Trappist monk, writer, theologian, mystic, poet, social activist and scholar of comparative religion. On May 26, 1949, he was ordained to the Catholic priesthood and giv ...
, and Cargas published the introduction to the Japanese edition of Merton's autobiography ''
The Seven Storey Mountain ''The Seven Storey Mountain'' is the 1948 autobiography of Thomas Merton, an American Trappist monk and priest who was a noted author in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s. Merton finished the book in 1946 at the age of 31, five years after entering Get ...
'' in '' The Queen's Work'' magazine while he was its editor. Cargas committed himself fully to academic life in 1963.Huttenbach, Henry R. (1999). "In memoriam: Harry James Cargas." ''Journal of Genocide Research'', 1(3), 311. DOI:10.1080/14623529908413962 Retrieved September 22, 2012. He earned a BA and MA from the
University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
, and received a PhD in literature from
Saint Louis University Saint Louis University (SLU) is a private Jesuit research university with campuses in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, and Madrid, Spain. Founded in 1818 by Louis William Valentine DuBourg, it is the oldest university west of the Mississip ...
. In 1970, he joined the faculty of
Webster University Webster University is a private university with its main campus in Webster Groves, Missouri. It has multiple branch locations across the United States and countries across Europe, Asia, and Africa. It offers undergraduate and graduate programs ...
, where he taught until his death in 1998. He was the chair of the English department there and also taught courses in the history, art, and religion departments.Winslow, Vicki (2012)
"Family Honors Harry Cargas with Scholarship Fund."
''Webster Today''. Retrieved September 22, 2012.
Some of his course topics included the novels of Kurt Vonnegut, protest literature, Latin American literature, prison literature, and Native American literature. A lifelong proponent of good sportsmanship, Cargas also served as the athletic director for the university between 1988–1989."Dr. Harry James Cargas"
(2010). ''Webster University Athletics Hall of Fame''. Retrieved September 22, 2012.
Cargas was a prolific writer and authored more than 2,500 articles and 32 books. He was also a frequent public speaker who lectured worldwide, as well as appearing as a regular commentator on
St. Louis Public Radio KWMU (90.7 FM) are the call letters for St. Louis Public Radio's stations, KWMU-1, Jazz KWMU-2, and Classical KWMU-3, in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. St. Louis Public Radio broadcasts in HD Radio utilizing extra subchannels. KWMU-1, 90.7 ...
for 25 years. His recognitions and awards included the Human Rights Award from the
United Nations Association A United Nations Association (UNA) is a non-governmental organization that exist in various countries to enhance the relationship between the people of member states and the United Nations to raise public awareness of the UN and its work, to promot ...
, the Eternal Flame Award from the Anne Frank Institute, and the Tree of Life from the
Jewish National Fund Jewish National Fund ( he, קֶרֶן קַיֶּימֶת לְיִשְׂרָאֵל, ''Keren Kayemet LeYisrael'', previously , ''Ha Fund HaLeumi'') was founded in 1901 to buy and develop land in Ottoman Syria (later Mandatory Palestine, and subseq ...
.


Holocaust studies and Catholic–Jewish relations

Cargas was first introduced to the subject of the Holocaust when he read an excerpt from Elie Wiesel's biographical work ''
Night Night (also described as night time, unconventionally spelled as "nite") is the period of ambient darkness from sunset to sunrise during each 24-hour day, when the Sun is below the horizon. The exact time when night begins and ends depends o ...
'' in a magazine one evening. For the rest of his life after that initial intellectual encounter, much of his scholarly work revolved around the Holocaust and the relations between Jews and Catholics. His mission was to bring "historic truth to his Church" and to provoke Catholic leadership to acknowledge both its role in allowing the Holocaust to happen, as well as its inaction and silence during the war. In particular, he was horrified by the idea that almost "every Jew killed in the Holocaust was murdered by a baptized Christian." In 1979, he developed a list of 16 proposals that would lay the foundation of proper relations between Jews and Christians. These proposals included excommunicating
Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
, adding Jewish memorials to the Christian
liturgical calendar The liturgical year, also called the church year, Christian year or kalendar, consists of the cycle of liturgical seasons in Christian churches that determines when feast days, including celebrations of saints, are to be observed, and which ...
, reexamining Christian theology and history in light of the Holocaust, moving
Christian Sabbath Sabbath in Christianity is the inclusion in Christianity of a Sabbath, a day set aside for rest and worship, a practice that was mandated for the Israelites in the Ten Commandments in line with God's blessing of the seventh day (Saturday) making it ...
to
Saturday Saturday is the day of the week between Friday and Sunday. No later than the 2nd century, the Romans named Saturday ("Saturn's Day") for the planet Saturn, which controlled the first hour of that day, according to Vettius Valens. The day's na ...
, and repenting for Christian sins against the Jewish people. Cargas labeled himself a "post-Auschwitz Catholic" and cultivated a deep friendship and intellectual partnership with the writer and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel. The two collaborated on several works, including ''Conversations with Elie Wiesel'', ''Telling the Tale'', ''Voices from the Holocaust'', and ''A Christian Response to the Holocaust''. In 1980, President
Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...
appointed Cargas as one of the original members of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council, which laid the groundwork for the
Holocaust Memorial Museum A number of organizations, museums and monuments are intended to serve as memorials to the Holocaust, the Nazi Final Solution, and its millions of victims. Memorials and museums listed by country: __NOTOC__ A - D: #Albania, Albania#Argentina, A ...
in Washington, D.C. He was also an executive councilman for the U.S. Holocaust Council and the only Catholic ever appointed to the Advisory Committee for
Yad Vashem Yad Vashem ( he, יָד וַשֵׁם; literally, "a memorial and a name") is Israel's official memorial to the victims of the Holocaust. It is dedicated to preserving the memory of the Jews who were murdered; honoring Jews who fought against th ...
,
Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
's official memorial to Jewish victims of the Holocaust. Shortly before his death in 1998, Cargas showed his continued dissatisfaction with the Catholic Church's response to its role in the Holocaust by rejecting Vatican statements on Jewish–Catholic reconciliation as simply camouflage. In an essay in honor of Cargas after his death, Kurt Vonnegut wrote that Cargas, whom he referred to as "my buddy, Father Cargas," was "a person of historical importance for having taken into his very bones, as a Christian, the horrifying mystery of how persons could profess love of Jesus Christ, as did most Nazis, ... yet commit a crime as merciless as the extermination of Europe's Jews. Every word he writes or speaks is somehow atonement."McGuire, John M. (August 20, 1998). "Harry James Cargas, 66: Author and Holocaust Scholar." ''St. Louis Post-Dispatch''.Vonnegut, Kurt (1998). "Foreword." ''Peace, In Deed: Essays in Honor of Harry James Cargas''. Zev Garber and Richard Libowitz, eds. Atlanta: Scholars Press.


Death

Harry James Cargas died of a brain hemorrhage while being treated at
Barnes-Jewish Hospital Barnes-Jewish Hospital is the largest hospital in the U.S. state of Missouri. Located in the Central West End neighborhood of St. Louis, it is the adult teaching hospital for the Washington University School of Medicine and a major component of ...
in St. Louis. He is buried in Saint Peter Cemetery in
Kirkwood, Missouri Kirkwood is an inner-ring western suburb of St. Louis located in St. Louis County, Missouri. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 27,540. Founded in 1853, the city is named after James P. Kirkwood, builder of the Pacific Railroad th ...
.


Selected writings

* ''A Christian Response to the Holocaust'' (1981) * ''When God and Man Failed'' (1981) * ''Reflections of a Post-Auschwitz Christian'' (1989) * ''Conversations with Elie Wiesel'' (1992) * ''Voices from the Holocaust'' (1993) * ''Telling the Tale: A Tribute to Elie Wiesel'' (1993) * ''The Unnecessary Problem of Edith Stein'' (1997) * ''Holocaust Scholars Write to the Vatican'' (1998)


References


External links


Harry Cargas interview with Walter J. Ong
from the Saint Louis University Libraries' Digital Collections.
Harry Cargas interview with Kurt Vonnegut
from ''The Christian Century''.


Reflections on the life of Harry Cargas
by Webster University faculty member Deborah Stiles.
Announcement of Harry J. Cargas Endowed Scholarship
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cargas, Harry J. 1932 births 1998 deaths American people of Greek descent American people of Polish descent Webster University faculty People from Wayne County, Michigan People from Hamtramck, Michigan People from St. Louis County, Missouri University of Michigan alumni Saint Louis University alumni American military personnel of the Korean War American academics of English literature 20th-century American non-fiction writers